Cynthia Overbeck Bix

College students crammed into phone booths Couples dancing until they drop Daredevils swallowing one live goldfish after another Streakers dashing naked down the street Planking and flash mobs and robotic pets These are just some of the crazy fads that have caught hold in the United States over the last century Where do these ideas come from and why do they catch peCollege students crammed into phone booths Couples dancing until they drop Daredevils swallowing one live goldfish after another Streakers dashing naked down the street Planking and flash mobs and robotic pets These are just some of the crazy fads that have caught hold in the United States over the last century Where do these ideas come from and why do they catch people s imagination Fads reflect the mood and spirit of a particular time, and they offer insight into a nation s culture The 1950s, for example, was a time of economic prosperity and technological development Americans expressed their delight in new inventions in many creative ways One popular craze on college campuses was to stuff as many people as possible into a phone booth On one campus, twenty five people managed to squeeze into a single booth In earlier decades, marked by the Depression and World War II, dance marathon frenzy caught on Promoters lured couples with promises of fame and monetary prizes for those who could dance for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of hours And great ideas never die Almost one hundred years later, dance marathons came back One creative variation, the flash mob dance, attracts spontaneous performances that range from flash mob wedding dances to Gangnam Style K Pop flash mobs in cities all over the world Fad Mania explores a century of American crazes, offering an entertaining and informative look at the major historical events of each decade and the fads that defined them As you learn about smiley buttons and Webkinz, you may just be able to predict this decade s next craze

Recent Comments "Fad Mania!: A History of American Crazes"

A very interesting look at all of the fads that have been part of American popular culture.

A very brief overview of some American fads throughout history. While it is interesting to think that all decades had ridiculous fads (planking is no worse than, say, swallowing live fish, or stuffing as many people as possible into phone booths), I think the book could have been better served by going into more detail about the fads, how they spread, and what prompted them. That was what I was hoping for going into this book: I just wanted a little more depth.flag

This nicely illustrated book takes students on a tour through the strange fads that captured people's attention. Broken up into eras, it covers everything from the flag pole sitting and dance marathons of the 1920s through the flash mobs of the new millenium. There are a nice variety of fads, explanations for them, and good sidebars with additional information. This is the sort of nonfiction book that I love, and am I alone in thinking that all students need to know about the brief gold fish swa [...]

A very brief overview of some American fads throughout history. While it is interesting to think that all decades had ridiculous fads (planking is no worse than, say, swallowing live fish, or stuffing as many people as possible into phone booths), I think the book could have been better served by going into more detail about the fads, how they spread, and what prompted them. That was what I was hoping for going into this book: I just wanted a little more depth.

This was a fun read. It is short coming in under 70 pages, but I found the journey down memory lane to be quite enjoyable. This would be a nice addition to any library. The thing I liked most about this book was that it brought into the context the time period of when things developed. It was short and not dense which is a must for students. It also allowed the reader to understand why things occurred. In the end it was a great reminder that all things come to pass no matter how great, bad, stup [...]

While not fantastic this book was fun to look through. There are a lot of fads that I don't think some kids will have any idea that exist. For example, during my recent book talks I had a girl ask what was with the picture on the front cover of the book. I explained that at one point in time it was a fad to see how many people can fit into a telephone booth at one time. The kids thought the idea was ridiculous and I couldn't agree more. Although, it was fun to see the kids react to the fads they [...]

Not a great text by any stretch, but some interesting facts on fads. This could have been so much better though, because so many of these fads have great histories. Here they were confined to just a paragraph or two.